The "1709 Republic" was a short-lived French republican government founded in the year 1709 in Paris, France. Its first president was Aubin de La Rosee, and it was not accepted by many governments, even their Spanish allies. Sacrificing good relations with other kingdoms, they instead gained the respect of their people. They were forged in the 1709 Revolution, caused by the Austrian Empire's declaration of war on France because their queen Elisabeth I of France was a woman.
History[]
Background[]
The roots of the republic were in the United Provinces to the north of France in the 1600s. The Dutch had invented a form of government modified from Greek republic and democracy ideas, with a Stadtholder serving four years as the national leader. The French king Louis XIV of France crushed the country in 1701 by capturing Amsterdam in the War of the Spanish Succession, but their republican ideas were sorely missed by the Dutch, who rebelled several times, and were ultimately put down.
However, the French people continued to support the absolute monarchy, as they had no idea if a republican government would continue to be amiable with the monarchies of the rest of Europe. Louis XIV died in 1707, in the middle of the war, and the Austrian Empire declared war on France in a war of succession, discriminating against the new female ruler Elisabeth I of France.
Angered that Austria was now at war with them due to their queen (as well as due to bankruptcy and high taxes), the French people launched an uprising led by Donatien Guiscard in 1708. After a year of raiding, the French revolutionaries attacked and captured Paris, guillotining all government officials and the queen.
Foreign Policy[]
The French government popularity was 69% to start, and was increasing due to the patriotic fervor as well as due to the fact that the people were now represented by a Consul appointed every four years. The Republic held onto the economic and social problems that the kingdom of France had faced before the revolution, including its state of war with Austria and other countries. It cost more to recruit line infantry troops, but the economy gradually increased. In 1710 France made peace with Great Britain by ceding Newfoundland, but continued to fight Hanover, Inuit, and other kingdoms. At the end of the year, only Hanover, the Pirates, and the Barbary States were at war with France.
France's republic was disrespected by many other nations because they were a different government type than them. The Republic maintained internal security but inherited a dying military power that had its heyday years before when it just started expanding. With a chronic state of war, France had the need to mobilize more and more soldiers.
Fall of the Republic and Return of the Monarchy[]
In 1713, the royal army under the command of Charles Lagrange and Marcel Bontecou pushed the Republican army all the way back to Paris before eventually storming Paris and restoring the power of the monarchy. Most political representatives of the 1709 Republic were arrested, found guilty of treason and executed.
Government[]
1709-1713[]
Consul/President: Aubin de La Rosee
Premier/Vice President: Frederic Devereux
Treasury Consul/Treasurer: Audric Boileau
Attorney Consul/Attorney General: Philippe Villaret de Joyeuse
Secretary of War: Theo Turenne
Secretary of the Admiralty: Theodore Robespierre
Minister (for the Americas) Joel Fouche